Four illegal immigrants drown

QUETTA: At least four people drowned after their speedboat capsized near Gwadar and the Iranian border in the Arabian Sea while en route to Iran. “Four bodies were brought to the District Headquarters Hospital Gwadar by local fishermen,” District Police Officer (DPO) Gwadar Pervez Umrani told Daily Times, adding that the incident is being investigated by the officers.The DPO said that there could be more people that drowned but their bodies are yet to be recovered.One of the victims was identified as Mohammed Basheer, a resident of Mansehra. “All victims belonged to Punjab and wanted to enter Iran from where they had planned to head to Europe. They were illegal immigrants,” a fisherman taking part in the rescue operation said. The bodies were floating when local fishermen spotted them. The speedboat had a capacity to hold eight to ten people and it was possible that more than twelve were on-board. However, the reason for the boat capsizing could not be ascertained immediately.“The boat capsized in the Iranian territory which is why the reason of incident is yet to be ascertained yet,” an official of the Balochistan Levies said. According to local officials, dozens of illegal immigrants try to cross the border illegally via a speedboat. “Three bodies have not been identified yet,” Umrani said, adding that the Levies and the police are jointly investigating the incident and a rescue operation is ongoing, in case of more victims.